Control of Enzymatic Browning in Processed Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)

Control of polyphenol oxidase (E.C. 1.14.18) activity by the use of citric acid was investigated. The enzyme was inactivated at pH 4.0 and was stable to 10 min exposures at 25°C in the pH range 4.0–8.0. At pH 6.5 the enzyme was active at 45°C but not at 70°C and thermal inactivation followed pseudo first-order kientics. At pH 6.5 the activation energy (E_a) for enzyme inactivation was 41.1 Kcal/mole while at pH 3.5 two rate constants and hence two values for E_a were observed. Between 0–5 min E_a for inactivation of polyphenol oxidase was 8.7 Kcal/mole and >5 min Ea was 21.8 Kcal/mole.